Introduction
Ethiopia has a population of 63 million--the second largest in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia's higher education (post-secondary) enrollment rate is below 1% of the age group.

History of Higher Education
Modern higher education began with the founding of the University College of Addis Ababa on March 20, 1950. The University College had less than 1,000 students and less than 50 teachers in the late 1950s. Most of the teachers were foreigners. The College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, College of Engineering in Addis Ababa, Institute of Building Technology, Gonder Public Health College, Theology College of Holy Trinity, Kotebe College of Teacher Education, and the Polytechnic Institute at Bahir Dar were opened in the 1960s.

In 1961, most colleges in the country were reorganized under the Haile Selassie I University. With the beginning of a socialist revolution in 1974, the name of the university was changed to Addis Ababa University (AAU).

Enrolment
Only about 10-15% of those who complete high school education are admitted to higher education each year. In 1999 enrollments 5,154 and 7,199 enrolled in diploma and degree programs respectively. There were a total of 27,345 regular students in the institutions of higher learning in 1998-99 academic year. 15.64% of the students were female. The number of graduates in 1999 was 6,111, of whom 14.1% were women.

Governance and Administration
The Higher Education Institutions Board reviews and adapts the plans and budgets of each institution. The universities have senates, which fall in between the boards and the academic commissions in their powers and duties. Each of the above administrative bodies creates various committees to assist their duties. The academic commission (AC) of each college faculty deliberates on and submits proposals about programs, plans, courses, certification, promotions, and students' status. The department councils are composed of all full-time academic staff and chaired by the department heads. The council prepares and submits recommendations to the AC concerning programs of study, curricula, courses, staff promotion, research projects, teaching materials, and examinations.

The presidents and vice presidents of the universities and the deans of the faculties are appointed by the government directly or through the Ministry of Education. The appointed officials are usually senior staff members of the institution. The department heads are elected by the department's council or appointed by the deans of the faculties, depending on the institution.

Faculty and Support Staff
Higher education institutions recruit their own staff based on certain criteria. Once employed, the teachers are assessed at the end of every semester (twice a year) by their students, colleagues, and the department head. The teacher must receive an above average rating to continue their employment. Contracts are renewed every 2 years. Those teachers whose performance falls below average for 2 consecutive semesters will not have their contracts renewed. In the past 5 years, a few contracts have been terminated due to low evaluations by students at the AAU.

Salaries of faculty are based on their ranks. Many instructors complain that their salaries are too low. A full professor is paid about US$350 per month. Administrative staff receive additional allowance.

There were 2,228 teachers in higher education institutions in 1989-99. The professors and associate professors were only 2.29% and 6.78% respectively. Over 66% of the instructors had a master's or a PhD degree. The rest had a bachelor's or equivalent degree. Out of the total teaching staff, only 6.15% were women, and in 1999, 6.01% were expatriates.

There were 5,169 support staff working in higher education institutions in Ethiopia in 1998-99. In 1998-99, 48.36% of the supportive staff were females.

Research and Publishing
The general understanding is that the academic staff of Ethiopian higher education institutions spend 75% of their time in teaching and 25% in research activities. Those working in research institutes spend 25% in teaching and 75% in research work.

The Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES), the first research unit in the country, was established in 1963. In 1999, there were six well-established research units within HEIs; the IES, the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center (under the Alemaya University of Agriculture), Geophysical Observatory, Institute of Development Research, Institute of Educational Research, and Institute of Pathobiology. The scientific and reputable journals published by research institutes, professional associations, or colleges are; Bulletin of Chemistry, Ethiopian Journal of Agriculture, Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, Ethiopian Journal of Education, Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, Ethiopian Medical Journal, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal, Journal of Ethiopian Law, Journal of Ethiopian Studies, SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science, ZEDE: Journal of the Association of Ethiopian Engineers and Architects.

The journals associated with the AAU are assessed every 2-3 years by a committee composed of 7 members from various disciplines. The funds for the research work come from the government budget and donors. The contributions of some Scandinavian and European countries and the United Nations (UN) are highly significant.

Financing Higher Education
Higher education in Ethiopia has been financed mainly by the government. The funds for the capital and recurrent expenses are provided to institutions through the Ministry of Finance. About 12% of the education budget is set aside for higher education. Out of the recurrent budget, about 50% is allocated for salaries. Ethiopian tuition fees have been increasing over the years. One credit hour at Addis Ababa University in the 1998-99 academic year cost Birr 32 (US$4). The fees for foreign students are about double.

Gender Issues
The admission rate for women has been only about 15% for the past several years. Some efforts have been made to improve the rate of admission by lowering the admission cut-off grade point by 0.2 (for example, admitting boys with 3.0 and girls with 2.8 GPA to the same program). This affirmative action has improved women's admission rate, but has not resulted in significant changes; the attrition rate of this group is higher than average.

It is important to note that most women are enrolled in social and pedagogical sciences and in diploma programs. Out of the total of 864 graduate students, only 62 (7.18%) were women. Engineering, agriculture, and pharmacy had the least or no female enrollment.

Private Higher Education
In the past several years, new private colleges have been accredited by the Ministry of Education. The four officially recognized colleges are: Unity College in Addis Ababa, Alfa College of Distance Education, People to People College in Harar, and Awassa Adventist College. Each of these colleges, except the Unity College, has about 2,000 students. Unity College has about 5,000 students. Their programs include business studies (accounting, management, law, and economics), auto mechanics, and agriculture.

Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Ethiopia, please consult: Habtamu Wondimu, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, eds., Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 316-325.